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Some series succeed on the strength of their writing, while some succeed due to the unforgettable characters they create. Somehow, The Chair manages to do both, with a cast that fully embodies their characters, creating men and women that are fully complex human beings rather than mere stereotypes. It doing so, it joins the ranks of the best college comedies that have been made.
These are people who have many motivations for acting the way that they do, and looking at them through the zodiac gives them an extra layer of meaning and nuance and, in some cases, helps to explain their behavior.
Ji-Yoon: Aries (Libra Rising)
Ji-Yoon (Sandra Oh) is the titular Chair, saddled with the responsibility of rehabilitating her failing English department. She repeatedly exhibits many of the traits associated with the Aries, particularly in her willingness and ability to take charge and stand up for what she believes in, even in the face of profound opposition from those in power over her. Sandra Oh, who has many strong roles in her acting resume, imbues this character with a fierce intelligence and courage that allows her to ultimately triumph.
Given that Libras always strive for a sense of balance in all things, it makes sense that Ji-Yoon would also fall into this astrological sign. After all, she has to balance many competing interests at her institution, navigating the conflicts among the various faculty in her department, the dean and his wife, and her students, not to mention the family dynamics she also faces, including her father and her daughter.
Yaz McKay: Taurus (Scorpio Rising)
The character Yaz McKay (Nana Mensah) occupies a vexed place at the fictional Pembroke College, since she will be the first Black woman to be chaired in its English department. Given this, it’s fortunate that she is a Taurus, with a stubbornness and a determination that allows her to push back when she’s confronted with faculty that refuse to change how they do things, even though their enrollments are failing. She’s also independent-minded enough to know that she might have to leave Pembroke altogether.
Scorpios are one of the signs best known for their bravery and their determination, and those are both traits that Yaz McKay has in abundance. She recognizes that as a Black woman in a predominantly White institution that she has to do twice as much work, and so she makes sure that she not only makes smart choices about where she publishes (top-tier journals) but also that she works hard to keep her enrollments robust.
JuJu: Gemini (Leo Rising)
The hallmark of the Gemini is their ability to be a social butterfly, to move through different groups with ease. That’s very much what Ju Ju (Everly Carganilla), Ji-Yoon’s daughter, is able to do. She gets along with almost everyone, whether that’s her Korean family or Bill, her mother’s friend, and love interest. However, she also has the Gemini trait of showing two different people to various audiences, which is why she’s often nice to Bill but harsh to her mother.
While Ju Ju has many of the traits of the Gemini, she is also very much a Leo. She knows what she wants, and she’s determined to get it, no matter how many tantrums she has to throw. What’s more, it’s clear from the way that she interacts with others, particularly Bill, that she has the Leo attribute of always wanting (or needing) to be the center of attention (no matter how busy the other person might be).
Elliot Rentz: Cancer
Though Cancers can be very compassionate people, they can also be stubborn and full of self-pity, and Elliot Rentz (Bob Balaban) shows both sides of this dynamic. While he is very compassionate toward his wife, he refuses to change anything about his teaching and pedagogy, even though his enrollments are cratering.
Rather than examining himself, he exhibits the Cancer tendency to see himself as the victim and to blame others, particularly Yaz (though, to be fair, the best thing he does is to act as Yaz’s TA for a brief time).
Joan Hambling: Virgo (Aquarius Rising)
Holland Taylor’s Joan Hambling is one of the senior faculty that is facing the possibility of early retirement, but she is, like a Virgo, very stubborn. While she does occasionally give into emotion, for the most part she has Virgo’s willingness and ability to take the rational approach to a problem, whether that’s finding out who is leaving nasty comments on a ratings website or trying to get a better office. At the same time, she also a Virgo tendency to ruthlessness, as can be seen when she turns against Ji-Yoon and helps to have her removed from her chair position. As with Taylor’s character Helen in Hollywood, who was often underrated, Joan is not to be underestimated.
Just as Joan’s Virgo tendencies allow her to take a practical approach to life, her Aquarius ones make her very independent. As a woman who has had to contend with the sexism of the academy, she’s not afraid to stick up for her own rights, especially now that she’s at the stage in her career where she realizes that giving in doesn’t get her very far professionally. And she also has the Aquarius tendency to be a bit eccentric, such as when she goes to the library in disguise to find that pesky student.
Bill Dobson: Sagittarius (Pisces Rising)
Sagittarius is one of the most likable signs of the zodiac. In fact, it’s almost impossible not to like a Sagittarius, and that’s why Bill Dobson (Jay Duplass) is such a perfect fit. Despite the fact that he’s a bit of a mess–prone to making all kinds of irresponsible choices–for the most part he remains popular with his students. He also has the Sagittarius trait of being quite compulsive and spontaneous, sometimes to his own detriment.
Pisces are very loving people, sometimes to their own downfall, because when a loved one passes away, they often engage in self-destructive behavior and find it hard to move on. That’s what happens with Bill, who struggles throughout the series to really recover from the fact that his wife passed away and that his daughter has moved away for college. Fortunately, as most Pisces are, he’s very adaptable, and by the end of the series he is poised to challenge the college for his job back.
Dean Larson: Capricorn
Dean Larson (David Morse) is, as a member of the administration, always looking out for the bottom line, and he always has the college’s best interests at heart (or, at any rate, the trustees). He’s quite ruthless at times, such as when he demands that Ji-Yoon figure out which of her colleagues to force into early retirement. He has the Capricorn’s self-discipline, but he also has the sign’s tendency to be rather unlikable.
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